


This Isn't What I Meant

by StarryKitty013



Series: 98% successful [6]
Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Angst, BAMF Peter Parker, BAMF shuri, But it's okay cuz he's trying, But you already knew that, Driving, Family, Gen, Harley Keener is a Good Bro, Harley Keener is a little shit, He's an asshole, Hurt Some Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Memes, OOC Ben, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Peter is a little Smarty pants, Peter needs a break, Pranks, Robot Dinosaurs, Science buddies, Shuri is awesome, Sleep Deprivation, Teenagers, Tony is a bit of an asshole, Vines, Wanda is worried, tony is so done
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-25 14:03:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15642237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarryKitty013/pseuds/StarryKitty013
Summary: 5 times Harley and Shuri acted like (were) Peter's older sibling and 1 time Peter (sort of) acted like theirs





	1. Harley

**Author's Note:**

> So I know that I'm working on my other story in the series. But Chapter two of 'Everything keeps us apart' has themes of this story in it and I created this story to specifically address some plot issues in that story, so yay more stories, boo you don't get another chapter of 'Everything keeps us apart' until this is done. But this should be cute...I hope. 
> 
> I love Harley and Shuri and I wanted them to be in this so yeah. Peter needs little sibs and Big sibs. He is middle child that needs to be protected.
> 
> Also its the Spooder boy's birthday!! Happy Birthday!!!!!

**Harley**

 

Peter’s summer has  _ not _ been mostly avoiding his uncle’s house than anything else.

 

It  _ hasn’t _ .

 

Sure, he went out as Spiderman more often during the summer, but only due to the decreased school hours and increased, if anything, crime. And sure, he went to Ned’s house for lunch most days, but they had to build new drones constantly because the old ones kept getting smashed by, as previously mentioned, the increase in crime. And  _ sure _ he spent most nights at the compound, but it was summer and Scott and Clint were around as often as they were during the school year, leaving three hyper and very much unsupervised children in the masked vigilantes care. And that did take a lot out of him thank you very much. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t been sleeping well the past few weeks, cause he never stayed in one place too long. It didn’t matter that his eating schedual was all off making him sick or hungry at the absolute  _ wrong _ times. It didn’t matter that his bones ached and were too wary for training. He kept going because he was  _ busy _ .

 

So he wasn’t  _ avoiding _ home per say. He was just busy. It’s not like Ben cared anyway, he got his monthly rent in yesterday and there was no reason to go back because all the tools and stuff he used to build gear were in Ned’s house, and his laptop in his bag as he swung through downtown Manhattan to get to Avenger’s tower. 

 

It was mid-June near 10pm, and Peter doesn’t think he’s seen anything more amazing than the whole city lit up on a clear night. It was so awesome from this view too. No matter how much he’s seen it, Peter would never get tired of it.

 

When he swung in through the window to the common room on the floor 43, he expected some Avengers on the couch with Lila and Cassie drawing on the barstools and maybe Cooper playing a video game on his phone. 

 

He didn’t expect to see Tony Stark receiving what seemed to be more of a lecture than anything else from a sandy haired 18-19 year old. 

 

“Why do you even put up with that kid? Like you have so many other things ta do.” the kid said snarkily and Tony sighed and rubbed his temples.

 

“Really, like what?” Tony asked, full frustration in his voice.

 

“Like me.” wow, was this his kid or something? He’s got the ego down path. But Peter could tell the guy was joking, and also concerned. He looked more worried than anything actually.

 

“Look Harley, I don’t wanna be sidelined to your BS again, when I said you could come home for the summer, I didn’t expect you to spite me like this.” Tony said in an exasperated tone, and this looked so domestic. Peter had a smirk on having taken off his mask, and leant against the window frame. He’d wait and see in they’d notice him, and also he kinda wanted to see how this played out.

 

“Sidelined? If anything  _ I’m _ being sidelined. You sent me off to the other side of the country.” Harley, apparently the guy’s name was, said and then continued, he didn’t seem mad, he seemed more amused if anything “And what  _ did _ you expect anyways?” he said with a glint of mischief.

 

“I  _ expected _ to be treated like the great mechanic/father-figure I am to you. And I didn’t  _ send you off _ , you had to go to college and  _ you _ chose MIT. Not my fault I live in New York since the Avengers re-assembled.”

 

“Yeah, and you harbor an freakish vigilante.” Harley said with his nose wrinkled. Wait were they talking about  _ him _ before they got here? Ohh shit- wait did this stupid jerk call him a freak.

 

“I’m not a freak.” Peter grumbled loud enough for them to hear and they both snapped their head toward him.

 

“Jesus, kid how long were you there for?” for some reason Harley scrunched his nose up at him. 

 

“Long enough to hear you call me a freak. Albeit, I get my costume isn’t the most appealing but  _ come on _ .” Peter crossed his arms and jumped down in front of the guy about 10 feet away, who was 6 inches taller than him so he had to look up. Harley must’ve taken pride in that, cause he smirked at him.

 

“News outlets seem to hate you.” Harley said, and of course he’d say that, cause he went to MIT and the only source of credit he got out there was the Daily Bugle. He really hated his boss sometimes.

 

“I have no idea why, I’m a likable guy.” he usually only talked this way when he was Spiderman. Why was a civilian, a civilian with Mr.Stark’s trust he might add, getting this kind of reaction from him? Peter was more controlled in not letting his two personas clash, but this guy...

 

“Clint and Scott took their kids back to their homes for the rest of the summer.” Tony interrupted relieving some of the tension in the room. He probably did it unknowingly, because he looked dead tired and Peter couldn’t help but  _ some _ worry be evident on his face. “So uhm, you are officially relieved for the summer. Go do you vigilante thing and yeah. I’m going to bed.” That was when the words really sunk in. 

 

He was going home tonight.

 

But that shouldn’t be a big deal, since it was his home he  _ wasn’t _ avoid for the past three weeks. Nope, not at all. It was perfectly fine for him to go home. He was  _ fine  _  with it. 

 

“O-Okay.” Peter said stiffly, all the tension and fight from him and Harley seeing to evaporate when two sets of eyes were one him.

 

“Unless you want to stay…” Tony said and Peter nearly blanched and blurted that  _ yes _ he  _ did _ want to stay. But Harley clearly didn’t, if the tail of their conversation was anything to go by.

 

“N-No. I can go home...haven’t-I haven’t been there in a-a while.” Peter confessed with a bright but very much forced smile. Harley seemed to stiffen up and Tony leaned in a bit.

 

“It’s pretty late, you sure you don’t wanna-” god Mr.Stark was making it hard for him to say no.

 

“I’m fine, Mr.Stark.” Peter jumped on the window frame again “See you around.” he said promptly leaving, and not giving Mr.Stark or Harley a chance to say anything. He didn’t need Mr.Stark worrying more than he already was. He’d already threatened to take him away from Ben once, if he knew he’s been avoiding Ben for most of this summer, he’d never get over it. Plus, Harley didn’t seem like the type of person that Peter wanted to tell his deep dark secrets to.

 

Peter was never one to judge people before he really knew them, it’s a quality he  _ actually _ likes in himself. But Harley already seemed to hate him, and Ben being a drunk bastard would not only broaden the topic of hate, and have more a reason to make fun of him. Spiderman gets beat up and doesn’t fight back as a civilian. 

 

Oh just imagine if he knew what  _ Flash _ did to him. 

 

But crawling up the side of his apartment, the crack was smellable from the street below him - and to his enhanced nose, nearly knocking him out or making him wanna puke, it smelled  _ so bad _ . Ben’s friends were inside too, and if they knew he was here, they’d probably make fun of him, or make him do work, and he was really tired. Not sleeping for a long time finally catching up to him and him collapsing into his bed.

 

OoOoO

 

It was about a week later that he came back to the compound. 

 

Ms.Romanov had invited him to, in her words, ‘kick Sam’s ass’ and he was not wasting a minute to agree, but it wasn’t because of Ben finding him sleeping two days after he’d collapsed in bed and throwing beer bottles at him while he yelled and Peter was cleaning. Nope, not at all. It was because who  _ wouldn’t _ want to kick Falcon's ass with Black Widow. You’d be a fool to say no. Yep, there was no other reason why it took him 5 minutes instead of 10 to get to the tower.  

 

When he’d gotten there with a big smile and a smirking Natasha, all thoughts of Ben and his reality waiting for him back at home were demolished. He was ready to beat up Falcon with Black Widow while Scarlet Witch and the Winter Soldier laughed. Yup, this was his life now.

 

Then dinner, which he had to force himself not to wolf down so fast that it’d put the Hulk to shame. Partially due to the fact his stomach probably couldn’t handle it. And also partially because Harley Keener was there, he found out the last name from Natasha.

 

“For such a little guy, you sure eat more than I thought you would.” Harley pointed out, pasta hanging from Peter’s mouth, Peter resisted the urge to growl. He gulped what was in his mouth.

 

“Enhanced metabolism.” he said curtly and that made everyone pause and looked at him. He felt himself shrink and played with the rest of his pasta. “What?” he said defensively in a small voice. He hated that part of him, and especially showing that part of himself in front of Harley.

 

“You never told us about the metabolism.” Wanda said in a near whisper, and Peter would’ve felt angry if it was anyone else. He just felt guilty because it was Wanda and Wanda was an amazing help to him. He looked up to her a lot, as a superhero and as a person. She’d been through so much and got through it. It made his problems seem like getting a B on a test instead of an A.

 

“Oh.” was all he was able to get out. That was when everyone roared at once. Well, to Peter at least, but it was probably the only reason why it was so overwhelming to him because of them all talking at once.

 

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

 

“You don’t eat nearly enough.”

 

“Is there other powers you have that we should know of.”

 

_ Enhanced senses, please stop _ . Is what he wanted to say, but he couldn’t say it. It was clogged in his throat and everything was too loud. The guilt, and the reality and pressure he had to face when they sent him home. Back to Ben. They’d send him back to Ben when this is over and he can’t-

 

“How the fuck can he answer your questions if he doesn’t know which one to answer.” Harley grumbled and Peter looked up through semi-teary eyes that were easily blinked away. He just missed Harley’s concerned glance toward him. Everyone stopped talking.

 

“Sorry.” he choked out. The tension lingered in the air, but previous conversation let out. Peter pretended not to notice people pushing more food into his plate, but it was hard and a bit overwhealming considering he was full, but he kept nibbling here and there when Wanda or Natasha gave him a look. He missed Harley’s concerned stare everytime.

 

After dinner they watched a bunch of movies. Half way through the first ones they started snacking on all sorts of junk food like popcorn and cookies and candy. Peter, not having a good time digesting his forced dinner, didn’t want to touch a single kernel of popcorn. But he was faced with the same predicament as dinner and had people pushing food in his direction and glaring when he didn’t eat. He knew they were worried, but if he kept eating he’d get sick. Hell, he felt sick already.

 

Everyone was knocked out or in their rooms by 1am and Peter took it as an invite to just stay at the tower. No one would blame him if he stay it was already so late, and he didn’t think his stomach would be very happy with him swinging home.

 

“You stayin’?” Harley asked and Peter looked up at the older boy. In the dark he couldn’t see his face clearly, even with enhanced vision. He wanted to groan. Tony technically didn’t invite him to stay, and usually that wasn’t a problem, he’d stay anyway, but Harley didn’t know that, and he didn’t wanna fight him or explain their relationship, cause honestly he didn’t know himself. He and Mr.Stark had a weird one that was really hard to explain.

 

“I can leave.” Peter said quietly rising from the couch and feeling his stomach turn. He hunched inward a little and suppress a gag, but he already knew what was coming. It was what he was trying to fight down the entire night.

 

“Hey, you okay?” Peter answered by darting to the bathroom and throwing up in the sink. The toilet was too far to make. When he was done, he leaned his back against the counter and slid down the cabinets, knees to chest. “Guess you weren’t as hungry as you thought?” he heard the snarky voice and Peter felt tears in his eyes again. 

 

Suddenly everything was too bright, too loud. The lights in the bathroom blinding and the sounds of the drain and air conditioner deafening. Annoying, and irritating. His chest got tight and it felt like his heart was being squeezed. He wrapped his arms around his legs and buried his head into his knees. He needed to breathe. Breathe and clear his head. 

 

This wasn’t the first panic attack Peter had ever had, but it didn’t make it any less scary and annoying to deal with. He just had to keep his thoughts at bay, cause if he didn’t then he’d go into full blown hysteria, like the first time. And that, that right there was  _ not _ fun.

 

Peter had only dealt with panic attacks alone before. Never with someone else in the room. And in his full defense here, he’d completely forgotten Harley was in the bathroom too. So when Harley next to him during it started to die down but not completely away, telling a story of how he launched a potato gun at some of his school bullies, Peter was surprised to say the least. 

 

Harley wasn’t touching him, just talking and it was sort of calming. Peter breathed again, it was easier, but not like before. He couldn’t help but look in surprise as Harley kept talking and his anxiety slowly melting away, focusing on the story and hanging on to every word like his life depended on it. Soon he was breathing normal again and everything seemed okay. Harley abruptly stopped his story 2 minutes after Peter had calmed down.

 

“You have those often?” Harley asked, and there was no snark or tenderness, just calm reassurance and gentleness.

 

“Sometimes. Not when another person was here though.” Peter said and Harley stiffened. Peter was quick to reassure the older boy “Gotta say makes it a lot better.” he smiled a pained and small but genuine nonetheless. 

 

“Yeah, I’ve had experience with dealing with em’.” Harley said but didn’t elaborate on it as he plowed through with a question. “You used to eatin’ that much?” Peter was a little startled by the question. BUt shook his head anyway and Harley looked at him calculating for a minute before asking. “This happen much to you?” gesturing to the sink above them with his head. Peter thought about it. The situation with Thor and then with Wanda and Bucky. Yeah, those were scary. Peter was reluctant to answer, but that nearly worried but also determined face Harley was giving him made him crack and confess.

 

“Yeah.” he sighed and cursed himself for his weak will against other people’s emotions. But unlike before, when he’d first met Harley, he felt like he could trust him this time. Cause Harley saved him during dinner and Harley didn’t laugh at his panic attack and Harley was here  _ right now _ and this whole eating thing was concerning Peter  _ right now _ . “Once with Thor. He said if it happened again to tell Bruce.” he said.

 

“Did it happen again?” Harley asked and Peter nodded.

 

“Wanda and Bucky. I didn’t tell Bruce though.” he said slightly ashamed at breaking his promise to the god. He ducked down. There was silence before Harley spoke again.

 

“I think you’re going through the same thing people who been starving their whole life and then finally gettin’ some food after a real long time do.” Harley said, Peter nearly spluttered.

 

“Like my stomach  _ shrunk _ .” Peter said in near hysteria, Harley nodded curtly and Harley continued.

 

“Don’t worry, I had the same problem. Jus’ gotta keep a regular diet.” Peter would’ve mentioned his home life is everything but regular and keeping a schedule for eating would be nearly impossible with his spazmatic life, but that would require explaining, and he barely noticed he didn’t mind as much once Harley put himself in the same shoes Peter was in, but without the, you know, crazy mutant metabolism vigilante superhero thing.

 

“It’s hard for me to get a regular meal, much less one that would’ve satisfied my enhance metabolism.” Peter said softly and Harley looked at him for a minute.

 

“It sucks, haven’ everything and then it’s gone.” How could Harley tell these thing just by looking at him? “My dad went to buy scratch off tickets and never came back. My mom left to the diner with my sister and never came back. They all left and never came back and when I find someone in my house again it was Tony.” Harley said and Peter turned his head a little “When he left, I thought he’d never come back either. But he did.” Harley smiled a little.

 

“I’m sorry.” Peter said and Harley looked to the wall in front of them in mild disinterest. “About your parents.” Peter corrected quickly and Harley scoffed.

 

“Ain’t your fault that my parents were total dickwads.” Harley said disinterestedly, but a hint of hurt was apparent in his voice.

 

“My parents are dead.” Peter felt the need to say. But it wasn’t his fault, Harley started the whole ‘parent talk’. Harley gave him a raised brow. “Plane crash I was 6.” He explained and Peter felt a roaring blush and need to explain further “I live with my uncle now, my aunt died about two years ago.” Peter explained.

 

“And he doesn’t know about you being well  _ you _ .” Harley gestured to him and Peter shook his head.

 

“I guess you can put him in the category of dickwad if you want.” Peter laughed “He doesn’t pay attention to me very much, but that just makes my job easier.”

 

“Let me guess he’s a drunk.” Harley said and Peter would’ve spluttered, but it really didn’t surprise that much. “You don’t seem like the type to drink.”

 

“And I reek of alcohol. You’re not wrong.” Peter mused and Harley puffed out his chest and slung an arm over the younger boy’s shoulders. “Thanks for being here.” Peter mumbled as he leaned into the half hug.

 

“No problem kid.”

  
  



	2. Shuri

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry. I took a little one last trip with my family before summer ends. School starts next week, so I was planning on going on a posting grind before my work load gets heavy and my posting will be less frequent. And as for Net Force, I'm working on it, I swear, but it's not turning out how I want it to, so I keep redoing it. I'll finish it, eventually.  
> Enjoy this next chapter tho!

**Shuri**

 

Harley and Peter had been nearly inseparable for the next few days. 

 

Peter would ramble on about movies or the latest invention in Spidey’s gear and Harley, being the robotics/mechanical engineer he was majoring at MIT, used his skills to help Peter come up with more ideas and suggestions and the boy was in awe. Harley told him about MIT and how he’d be a cinch and Peter nodded along refraining from telling Harley how he could never in his dreams afford going to MIT even on a full ride. Peter made sure not to get his hopes up.

 

Harley would also be monitoring Peter’s eating and even sleeping habits now - he’d found out about Peter’s spazmatic schedule of alternating between insomnia and Snorlax and had enough of it. Harley also took measures into making sure Peter didn’t go back to his apartment, Peter noticed, but pretended not to and watched just  _ one more _ movie with Harley, cause hey, he kind of liked  _ Aliens _ . Never mind that he fell asleep halfway through it  _ on accident _ . 

 

The only time they wouldn’t be together talking about science or movies was when Peter went out for patrol and Harley went into the lab. Even then, Peter would meet Harley back in the lab and Harley would go back to what they were talking about not but two hours ago like nothing happened. 

 

It was kind of refreshing, since the first time he went out on patrol since befriending Harley, he thought the boy would pepper him with concern, insisting to check ever injury and treat him like a kid. But as he walked into that lab the first time Harley was there, he realized Harley wasn’t the type to do that and they were only 4 years apart, so it’d be borderline hypocritical to do that to Peter. Plus, Peter noticed, Harley was better at dealing with panic attacks instead of blood. He’d get stiff overtime Peter rolled up his sleeves to help, but showed scars instead. He never rolled up his sleeves after that first time when Harley glanced not so subtly to the wounds. Tony and Bruce did it too, but more subtly.

 

Peter swung in from a mid-day patrol, planning on grabbing an apple and going down to the labs with Harley. He nearly stopped half way through grabbing an apple from the bowl when he saw who was just over the counter. In fact, he freezes with wide eyes as he stared directly at the King of Wakanda and Tony Stark sitting next to each other, apparently having a nice little chat.

 

“Hey kid. Harley’s taken a shower, but you can go down to the lab to wait for him.” Tony said nonchalantly, like there  _ wasn’t _ a national icon at the table next to him. Well actually, this was a building full of national icons. Okay, a  _ king _ sitting next to him.

 

“Y-yeah, sorry to interrupt. ” Peter spluttered and grabbed the apple. He was about to turn away but King T’challa stopped him.

 

“You are the Spider boy that helped in Germany?” Peter wasn’t really surprised he knew, even if he was in civilian clothes; because everybody - Peter would be lying if said he thought that wasn’t a little irritating - in this tower knew who he was - well everybody with a superhero profile-, he was more astonished that he  _ knew _ who he was. A king knew who he was. And freaking REMEMBERED him. Peter nodded quickly. T’challa smiled. “Thank you for your assistance. You were a power asset in our battle.” T’challa said and he didn’t hide the amusement when Peter nearly jumped 7 feet in the air. A king just complimented him!

 

“T-Thank you, your majesty.” He stuttered and T’challa smile became more warm.

 

“Call me T’challa, you’ve certainly earned it with your will to protect others.” T’challa said, Peter nearly beamed with delight. 

 

“Thank-Thank you sir. I-uhm it’s an honor and- uhm your powers are so cool and..I’m just gonna-“ Peter pointed outside the room before he could embarrass himself any further. T’challa just chuckled as he left.

 

“Shuri is going to eat him alive.” T’challa said with amusement in his tone.

 

“I don’t know, the kid can wrap pretty much anyone around his little finger.” T’challa raised a brow. “Not like that.” Tony reassured and T’challa’s smirk got a bit mischievous.

 

OoOoO

 

Peter felt like the stupidest person on the planet. 

 

He’d just embarrassed himself by fanboying in front of the King of Wakanda about the King of Wakanda. God, why was he so screwed up? He couldn’t do anything freaking right. 

 

Self hate aside, Peter couldn’t help but notice that the lab lights were on. Now if Peter didn’t know better he’d think it was just Bruce. But did happen to know that Bruce and Natasha were out to day. Harley and Tony weren’t in the lab and no one was supposed to be down here. He would’ve counted Flash, but Tony would never allow him within a ten mile radius of the lab with _ dangerous and expensive _ equipment without supervision. 

 

So whoever was in this lab, shouldn’t be in the lab. He ducked into the lab quietly attaching himself to the ceiling. He looked and saw some sparks and tinkering and in the background faint sounds of...were those  _ vines _ . 

 

He saw a girl, with braids making up her hair in a bun. She was wearing a NASA t-shirt and black sport shorts. She looked somewhat familiar, but Peter couldn’t put his finger on it. 

 

“Are you supposed to be here?” The girl didn’t look around like he expected, she looked straight up and she didn’t looked surprised more amused. 

 

“I don’t know. Am I?” She asked and then Peter jumped down, not aiming his web shooters but having his fingers above the buttons under his oversized NASA hoodie. “Nice hoodie.” She said and Peter couldn’t help but agree.

 

“What are you doing?” He asked and the girl smirked.

 

“Upgrading this Dino tech. Wanna help?” He wasn’t sure if a bad guy would say ‘wanna help’ but he’s seen some weird stuff before. And who the heck calls Stark Tech,  _ Dino Tech? _

 

“Who are you?” He asked and the girl rolled her eyes. 

 

“Who do you think I am?” She asked bemusedly. Very stark to her previously snarky attitude.

 

“Well...uhm I thought you were…” that’s when it clicked, why she looked so familiar. He’d seen her on the news next to… he gulped “oh you’re- are you Black Panthers sister?” He asked hoping he was wrong.

 

“That idiot would be half the man he is without me.” Shuri grumbled and scoffed “but yes, took you long enough spider boy.” She crosses her arms and her snarky smirk back on her face. Peter let a groan out as he dragged his hand down his face.

 

“I’m such an idiot.” He mumbled to himself but he heard the _princess_ _of Wakanda_ laugh. God she was a freaking   _princess._ Could he do anything right?

 

“Well idiot boy, would you like to make yourself useful and be my lab partner?” Shuri asked and Peter looked at her in awe. The smartest person in the world, or at least one of the smartest, was asking  _ him _ Peter Parker to work with them as a lab assistant. This was the greatest day of his life.

 

“How do you know I’m even smart?”  _ Don’t question it Peter. Just let it happen _ . His mind scolded and Peter probably should’ve taken the advice. But Shuri smiled at him.

 

“You ask a lot of questions. How about you find the answers.” She said and gestured for him to come near. Peter walked up to the table next to her to see what she was working on. It seemed to be a-

 

“No way, are those vibration prosthetics?” Peter’s voice pitched on the last word but he didn’t care in his excitement. Shuri laughed easily.

 

“Yes, Stark was mumbling how you’d like it.” Peter’s Head whipped so fast in her direction she was almost concerned he’d get whiplash.

 

“He mumbled about me- Er talks?” Peter stuttered and Shuri smiled at him again.

 

“No, he just said the one thing under his breath about lizards and evil geniuses.” Shuri said and Peter internally deflated. 

 

“Oh...can I...uhm help?” Shuri’s foxy grin was back again.

 

“Yes.” She laughed “that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.” She lightly punched his arm.

 

They went on like that, Peter animating his awe at Shuri’s work and then Shuri throwing in some memes and vine references that seemed relevant. Peter was surprised when Shuri put up a chart and asked Peter to analyze it and he jokingly said Loss, and Shuri took it down and said exactly and Peter laughed with her. And for the first time since May died, it sounded real.

 

It felt wrong. To be this happy when May was gone, even if it had been a year. To be happy when his parents were dead and Ben was wasting away in their apartment. While he was avoiding home and not taking care of Ben even if Ben clearly needed it. When people were suffering right now because he was doing this instead of patrolling. When he and MJ were having their fallout. It all felt so wrong.

 

It felt wrong but he couldn’t help it. He’d make up for the happiness later, for now he just laughed at another Kermit meme. Cause it was making Shuri happy too and he liked it when Shuri laughed.

 

_ Stop giving excuses. _

 

It wasn’t until Harley sauntered in an hour later that Peter looked up with a smile on his face and still staving off laughter from the last meme Shuri had referenced.

 

“Yo Shuri.” He said casually, obviously they knew each other. 

 

“Yo.” She said not looking up from her work. 

 

“What’s up?” He asked coming behind Peter and looking down at the work he was doing.

 

“The sky.” Peter said in a wistful way and Harley punched his arm, harder than Shuri though. 

 

“Ow, could you guys stop punching me?” Peter said rubbing his arm and sending a light glare to Harley. 

 

“You’re Spider-Man, you’ve gotta take more hits like this on a daily basis.” Harley rolled his eyes and Shuri snickered. 

 

“Yeah…” _ But Peter Parker takes more falls. _ “Uhm, doesn’t mean I’m gonna...gonna let-let-“ 

 

“Oh man, what’s wrong? You were talking fine a minute ago? Why the stutter?” Shuri asked and Peter looked up at her shyly with a nervous grin.

 

“I think my social battery turned off.” Peter mumbled, he joked when he panicked..., sometimes.  Harley and Shuri seemed to either buy it or be really good at letting them off the hook. Knowing their intellect it was probably the latter. 

 

Peter joined in some memes but the entire time he felt wrong, like he was out of his own skin. It wasn’t fair because he didn’t feel like that when Harley wasn’t there, but he couldn’t control the feeling. He’d rather not feel it at all. If anything he felt overwhelmed. Harley and Shuri alone were smarter than him alone, well maybe not Harley, but still he was only Harley was only smarter because he was in college. And Shuri literally lived in Wakanda and was the head of their research department for an entire kingdom. 

 

Oh god, he was thinking about things that would freak him out, he shouldn’t be thinking about it and he was and oh man ohmanohmanohman. He was gonna freak out. He couldn’t freak out in front of Shuri and he most certainly didn’t wanna freak out in front of Harley again, even if it did make him feel better to have Harley there. He couldn’t do that to Harley again.

 

“Pete, you okay?” Harley must of noticed something was off about him. He had to redirect his attention. 

 

“Yeah, I’m good, just remembered that we haven’t said a single yeet in the time we were here.” Harley kept looking at him weird but Shuri Seemed to either not notice his weirdness, or be an immediate diverter. He hoped for option one.

 

“Oh my god. We are so stupid.” Shuri said in exasperation and threw a screwdriver at Peter and yelled ‘yeet’. Peter caught it.

 

“Goddem.” He said and Shuri laughed.

 

“Nice.”

 

They were like that for a few more hours. Talking and laughing and Peter never thought he had this much fun with anyone else in his entire life. It was just like before, when May was alive and he was hanging out with Ned. And then when he was hanging out with MJ and Ned. All having fun doing homework in the library but really not.   

 

Except this was a little different. These two were older then him by more than a few months. By a year or two and Peter didn’t know how to describe this feeling.

 

Tony and T’challa walked in then, and then the air got thin again for Peter. 

 

“It is time for Dinner, what are you working on?” T’challa asked in his graceful way. 

 

“Upgrades brother, to Sergeant Barnes’ arm.” Shuri said in her usual uncaring way.

 

“Yeah, how’s that going?” Tony asked and Peter didn’t miss the glance Tony gave to him. He still wasn’t hung up about the Oscorp thing was he? That was months ago. Albeit, no one had really touched that area after the kids were kidnapped, but still.

 

“Very well. Peter has been very insightful.” Shuri said happily and Tony raised a brow as Tony continued. Peter stiffened, she didn’t know. “I swear it’s like he’s done this a thousand times before, has education in the outside world gone up or is he just special?” Shuri asked teasingly. Tony answered anyway.

 

“He’s special alright.” Peter was about to protest but Tony continued “He  _ has _ worked in this field before. In Oscorp.” Tony said and Harley and Shuri even T’challa watched as Peter shrunk in on himself. “What were you working on? Oh yeah, I can’t get it out of my mind you were-“

 

“I get it, you’re petty.” Peter nearly growled in a cut off, Tony was shocked into silence everyone was. Peter didn’t care.“Seriously? I thought you’d get over it by now. It’s been months, how do you even know I remember it.”

 

“Cause you don’t forget something like that.” Peter glared at Tony who glared right back. 

 

“What did you work on?” T’challa had the balls to ask. Course he did, he was a king. He said it politely and in a way Peter couldn’t get mad at. So he just sighed.

 

“Something that should’ve been made under better terms.” Peter said “And management” he mumbled grabbing his backpack and turning away to walk out. “I’m going home. See you later.” He mumbled out and left. Harley looked like he wanted to protest.  _ You don’t have a home Parker. _ He never got the chance to before Shuri quickly excused herself to follow Peter.

 

By god, did she  _ not _ sprint. She is a princess, and does not  _ sprint _ . She just walked…Briskly….Briskly walked. There is a difference.

 

“Peter.” Shuri said and nearly reached out to him but Peter stopped.

 

“Shuri...I have to get home…” he mumbled and ducked in on himself. 

 

“You don’t want to go though.” it was more of a statement than a question and Peter wondered if he was just that easy to read or if Shuri was just that good.

 

“I haven’t been home in three days...” Peter said in a quiet voice.

 

“And no one is expecting you.” Peter gave her a wary look and she shrugged her shoulders “I’m finishing your sentences. You don’t have to go Peter.” she reached out to touch his shoulder. Peter tensed but didn’t pull away.

 

“But I-”  _ I’m forgetting that I have a reality to face and the more time I spend with you and being happy the harder I’ll fall. I can’t take many more falls. But I don’t wanna go. I don’t wanna go  _ “I don’t wanna go.” he said in a small voice and Shuri pulled him into a hug.

 

“Then stay.” she said commandingly, he huffed out a laugh.

 

“Why is Mr.Stark being so mean today?” he asked like a child would. It only made Shuri pull him in closer.

 

“He’s just PMSing. Not used to people telling him no. That’s why we like you.” Shuri rubbed his back.

 

“We?” his voice cracked with unshed tears.

 

“Yes. We care about you Peter.” Peter hugged Shuri back and smile softly.

 

_ Please be real. _

  
  



	3. Driving

**Driving**

 

Peter had his permit. He’d gotten it with a forged signature of Ben’s and Ned’s mom had taken him and Ned at the same time to ‘save Ben trouble’. That was the lame excuse he used anyway. 

 

After May had died, Peter had just turned 15. When the time for the foretold Learner’s Test came, Ben had already spiraled into drinking - or ‘coping’ as Peter used to call it before it became serious. May had joked that he’d do fine on the test, but he would crash as soon as he got in the car. Parker Luck never failed to get him at his most triumphant times. 

 

He needed 42 hours of driving experience with a licensed adult before he needed to take the test. He’s had all of 10 minutes of that complete, and he was two months from 16. He could get his license at 16 and 3 months so in November was the time he was supposed to take the test and that was in 5 months.

 

There was no way in Valhalla he was getting 42 hours in before that. He didn’t have anyone to drive with, because Ben was a freaking asshole. He couldn’t ask Ned’s mom to do it, because she’d already done so much. Everyday for a month after May’s death she’d have Ned bring him lunch. He was infinitely grateful for it, but he never had much of an appetite. He always took it home to finish for dinner and breakfast and Ned would bring him another lunch. The excuse was that Ned’s mom had joked ‘only until you or Ben figure out how to cook.’ and Peter had smiled a little and accepted the packed meal gratefully. She had done so much, asking her to take him driving for 42 hours would not only be suspicious, but seem ungrateful for everything she’s done.

 

Peter had given up on the driving thing, but he never had time to think about it much in the first place. 

 

So what? In New York you don’t even need to know how to drive. What with every subway station or bus stop within a walking distance from just about anywhere, why would you even need to drive. Plus driving was crazy in New York City. Too much traffic not enough road. It was noisy and irritating. 

 

The same can’t be said for upstate New York though. There you  _ had _ to drive to get to, and well, Peter didn’t really realize that was an issue yet. Not until Tony Stark asked him to come upstate.

 

Peter knew that the Avengers spent more time in the tower than in the compound, mostly because the Tower was in the city so the kids could go to school, and Tony stayed there because it was Stark Industries HQ and with Natasha it was closer to the New York SHIELD HQ. Not that anyone knew where that was. So with nearly half the team there during the school year, the Avengers spent most of their time there. With it being summer, they now spent most of their time in the compound. Away from subways and cities. Buses didn’t go to the middle of nowhere so that was a bust too.

 

So when Tony texted him - he texts with  _ the Tony Stark _ \- to come upstate when he was reading  _ To Kill a Mockingbird _ for the fifth time in the Queens Public Library, he had to say no. And If he were to be honest, he loved the book, he didn’t wanna go anywhere. 2 minutes later he received a call. 

 

“What’s up kid? Monsters? Aliens? What are we working with?” Tony said curtly and quickly, disinterestedly like this was an everyday thing, which it probably was for Iron Man. It took Peter a moment to realize that Mr.Stark wanted to know what he was up to. Peter blinked for another moment before answering a bit slowly.

 

“A really good book? Uhm, Mr.Stark I’m at the Library.” And Ben was out, thank god. He could’ve read at home, but he didn’t have a Library card to check out books. He liked reading at the Library anyway, so it’d be a waste of 10 dollars. He was always scraping for cash. PLus the Library was relatively more quiet than any other place in New York, and really gave his senses a break from loud unexpected noises, smells and bright lights.

 

“You can read at the compound. Harley misses his playmate.” his advanced hearing heard Harley grumble in the background that Peter  _ wasn’t _ his playmate. Tony sighed “Fine, little brother.” Why could Peter just  _ hear _ his eyes rolling? And why did he hear Harley say  _ damn straight _ ? He must need new Spider senses. Cause that, that right there, couldn’t have been right. No one would want him even remotely related to him.  _ Parker Luck _ .

 

“Mr.Stark I can’t come to the compound.” He decided to ignore the weird feeling in his chest and general confusion for now. He didn’t have a ride, and Mr.Stark wanted him to come up. At least it wasn’t a dire emergency. If that was the case, he’d already be suited up and Mr.Stark would be picking him up without a second thought, not wanting to waste time waiting for him at the compound.

 

“Is it that good of a book?” Mr.Stark said half jokingly. Peter rolled his eyes. Then he paused. Mr.Stark didn’t know he didn’t have a ride that far upstate. Happy drove him the one time he’s ever been there. Oh man, he didn’t have a ride. This was going to be highly embarrassing for him.

 

“N-No… I uhm… don’t have a ride.” he said slowly hoping to prolong the inevitable.

 

“Can’t you drive?” Tony asked “I’ve known you for nearly a year kid, your birthday had to come around in that time frame somehow.” Peter winced. It hadn’t yet, Mr.Stark had known him when he was 14 and about two weeks from 15. 

 

“I’m still 15.” Peter said sheepishly and then blabbered on a bit to attempt to explain himself. Like he always did when he was a little flustered. “I mean I have my permit, but I never really driven before. I don’t really got anyone to drive with so…” Peter shrugged even if he knew Tony couldn’t see it. He could just hear the cogs in Tony’s heads turn.

 

“Okay, we can work that out.”

 

OoOoO

 

‘Working it out’ apparently meant one Harley in an Audi.

 

“So you’re driving me?” Peter asked with a quirked brow, outside of Queens Public  Library. He wasn’t at all surprised if Harley or Tony had pinged his phone. He actually expected it at this that's why he didn’t question the lack of questions he was getting from Mr.Stark when he’d hung up. And he did say he was at the Library. It kinda bugged him if he were to be honest, how easily they would invade his privacy. He thinks they do it every chance they get just to spite him, or maybe that’s just his paranoia, but he still wouldn’t put it past them.

 

“Nope.” Harley said getting out of the car and throwing him keys which he caught easily with wide eyes. “You are.” His cool demeanor was very unnerving to Peter. It either indicated he trusted Peter’s abilities to operate a vehicle, or didn’t want Peter to freak out. It was probably the latter. Because at least one of them shouldn’t be freaking out in the car if Peter didn’t really know how to operate a vehicle, and Peter was very easily nervous. Scratch that, he was the embodiment of nervous.

 

“Are you sure?” Peter said anxiously as he got in the driver's seat and Harley got in the passenger’s. Harley didn’t even touch the seat belt as he leaned back casually.

 

“Yeah Pete…” He watched as Peter put on his seatbelt. “Have you ever driven before?” Harley asked, a bit of nervousness creeping into his voice. Peter thought back to the time he stole Flash’s car. He also remembered the videos of people taking a video of his atrocious driving as he passed. There was no way Harley could’ve trusted him without knowing everything about him. And He knew for a fact that he and Shuri watch every single one of the ‘Spiderman Fails’ videos to have ever existed.

 

“Yeah, once and it broke the internet.” Harley paled a little and Peter let out a nervous chuckle and a lopsided smile. One of them couldn’t freak out.

 

“Okay. Uhm turn on the car.” he said and Peter looked at all the buttons in the Audi and made an educated guess. He must’ve got it right because the car turned on and Harley let out a nervous smile. “Great now merge into traffic  _ slowly _ .” Peter would’ve rolled his eyes if he knew what he was doing. But he was just as afraid as Harley and...and this was a  _ really _ nice car that Peter couldn’t afford the damage for.

 

Peter was all in all a good driver when under the instruction of Harley. Harley even felt comfortable by the time they got out of the city and into the more foresty parts of the drive. More secluded. Peter felt more confident without people he could smash into too. And a deserted highway and his mild ADHD, probably his spider part of his DNA that made him never be able to sit still, but he’d  _ always _ had that problem. It only took Harley to say. “What are you 30? 45 miles on a 50 mile road.” A scoff and he was off. He went up to 70 and didn’t even care Harley was telling him to slow down. More like yelling but come on, this was fun and surreal. Him, Peter Parker was driving an Audi owned by Tony Stark and Harley Keener in his passenger seat? If only Shuri was here. 

 

Peter laughed and Harley looked at him in silence for the remainder of the ride, which at the speed they were going at was about 10 minutes. It wasn’t until they stopped that he finally looked at Harley’s weird expression that he was giving him. “What?” he asked.

 

“Nothin’” Harley said after a minute a smirked to himself, or was he smiling fondly. Peter shrugged it off.

 

“Hey, Harley could we do this again? Please?” he asked excitingly and Harley reached over to grab the car keys and got out. Peter got out too.

 

“No.” he said walking into the compound, Peter jumped along behind him.

 

“Please. You’re a great teacher.” Peter’s voice did not go up an octave no matter what anyone said.

 

“No.” he said and Peter blindly followed him into a room.

 

“Please.” he near whined and was it just him, or did Harley seemed amused?

 

“Please what?” said a unmistakable voice of Tony Stark. “How was the drive up?”

 

“Harley’s a wuss, but it was great.” Peter said at the same time Harley said “Peter tried to kill me, but it was good.”

 

“Wha?! I am not a wuss. You were going at 45 on 50!” 

 

“Yeah, and you told me to go faster. I break the law by 20 an’ ya start freakin’  out.” he didn’t even know it, but he let his Queens accent slip. Something he only did when he was with May and Ben before. He only did it now when he was too nervous or excited to care about hiding it. The last time he did it was probably when he saved that elevator in DC.

 

“Cute accent.” Harley giggled and Peter blushed.

 

“Whatcha talkin’- I mean I have no idea what you are talking about.” he corrected and Harley just laughed.

 

“You really are something else.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone else see the Avengers as pets sometimes.   
> Like Tony is a brown mutt, and Steve is a Weimeringer/golden Retriever and Thor is a German Shepherd/Golden Retriever and Bruce is a lab but a brown small one and like Clint is a grey hound and Nat is a cat obviously and like Peter is a brown smol toy poodle with curly hair that everyone is trying to protec?????? Or is it just me??


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. I love Dinosaurs. Don't Judge me.

**Coding**

 

The Parkers never had enough money to buy a pet before. That’s why when Peter was 11 he built one out of old house appliances. One of which was a bent up fork and he got tickled profusely for it, but May and Ben had been so proud and astonished nonetheless. It’s name was R3X-1, and it took several ‘prototypes’ for him to be perfected. Too bad he was never actually finished, for Peter didn’t have the parts he needed to finish his Robo-Dino. It was a smaller version of a T-Rex made out of a blender, TV remotes and a bent up fork. It moved but it didn’t emote the way Peter wanted it to. So the idea was scrapped, because school and life got busy, but Peter never forgot about R3X-1. Or REXY.

 

Peter is smart. Ever since he was a kid that’s what he was known for.

 

When he was 3 he was reading second grade level stuff He could Already do basic Math and he was reading some science books too. Mary and Richard had been so pleased to find their son had a knack for science like them and would stop at nothing to buy him the books he required to fuel that love for learning. He read mostly about dinosaurs though. A LOT of dinosaurs.

 

His mother, Mary, had finally taken him to a library when he was 5 when she realized they didn’t have the space, or very frankly the money to buy anymore books for Peter. Peter didn’t care that he couldn’t keep the books through, as long as he got to read them. He plowed through most of the children’s books on science and technology. Peter wasn’t picky either. He wasn’t like normal kids who liked the fantasy books and hated science ones because they had  no plot- albeit he loved fantasy too, he just liked the science ones better. 

 

His parents died when he was 6, and the only thing he did to cope was hole himself up reading- weather it be the dusty old books of Tesla in his uncle's garage or the new Time magazine at the Library 4 minutes away from the house- by that time he was on a high school reading level. May and Ben didn’t want him out alone on the New York streets though, but he asked to go to the library more and more often as he went through all of the books in the house. They eventually had to let him go alone sometimes, because Peter would drive himself mad. So he went everyday after school and so long as he left a note and told the librarian he was there he could stay until dinnertime. The Librarian, who’s name was Karen, was always really nice to him and helpful, almost like a big sister - that’s why he named the AI in his suit Karen, cause she reminded him of her. She was 19 when he’d first met her and everytime he walked in she’d give him a bright smile and tell him of any new books they had gotten that he might be interested in. She sometimes even held books so he could read them and sometimes she’d even buy him a hot chocolate or pastry from the Starbucks that was in the Library, it was great. 

 

When he was 7 all the reading turned more into tinkering. Applying all the reading he’d done into experiments and inventions he’d make out of old house appliances that didn’t work anymore. Ben always used to fix them but if he couldn’t he’d save the spare parts so Peter could maybe use them later. Uncle Ben and Aunt May had a few too many ‘lab accidents’ to clean up afterwards though. He read about Norse mythology too, because they had briefly covered it in class and he really wanted to know more. He thought Thor was really cool, and the stories always made him laugh, he couldn’t believe they were  _ real _ , because Thor was on the  _ Avengers _ and he protected earth.

 

It was when he was 8 that he actually noticed he didn’t have the same means as regular inventors. They didn’t have money for new parts so Peter had just been using old stuff he found in the garage. At that point it wasn’t enough so he’d taken to looking around the streets of New York. May and Ben thought him responsible enough, just as long as he didn’t go too far, and he could only scavenge if one of them was in the house. He would find a bunch of old parts in allies and subways and brought them back. He’d even take a backpack wherever he went- weather it be central park or the zoo or even school - so if he found something he could use then he’s put it  in until he got home. He didn’t have a computer to actually code on like he’d read in most of his books. Just basic, or not so basic robotics. 

 

When he was 9 he decided, why not build one? He’d advance his ideas and make better inventions. Maybe even ones that can help people. So he did. But since Ben didn’t know anything about building a computer- he just knew how to fix some household appliances and Peter learned the basics of mechanics from Ben - it took Peter 9 months to finally build his own computer. He’d also read Jane Foster’s books on astronomy, as recommended by Karen who was a big fan of her work. He was surprised when in one of her articles she had mentioned Thor.

 

Peter was 10 when he found out the magical site of wikihow and Youtube DIY. He still read books and would animatefly talk to Karen sometimes about what he’d learned on the computer and Karen let him use the computers in the library even if he didn’t have a card. She gave him her number and told him he could use it to check out books anytime. He never once took her up on that offer, he didn’t want to take too much from her- even if she insisted it was no big deal and that he would be responsible enough to bring them back--although he highly doubts that now--and that she trusted him- because she’d been so nice and giving and he couldn’t give anything back. May and Ben decided to start him on an allowance of 1 dollar a week and he’d saved for a month and a half to buy her a hot chocolate with whipped cream from the Starbucks.

 

He was 11 when he’d read Dr.Banner’s thesis and Tony Stark’s books. And wow, they were his new idols. Sure he got picked on by the kids at school for being a total egghead and book worm and smart - Ben always said to ignore them because he had a gift and he knew how to use it and he also said that everyone had a gift, but they just didn’t know what it was yet. It had helped but what really helped was when he thought of Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. How they were smart and superheroes. They were strong and applied what they had learned to help people. He wanted to be just like that one day. Help people with his intelligence. 

 

He was 12 when he dreamed that and worked on ideas. He also picked up books he’d already read and was surprised to find mistakes in it. He calculated twice over and yep, there were mistakes. He would figure out how the new discoveries he made changed the way that the equations and science was made and it opened up so many new doors. He’d written all his theories and ideas down of how he could make these mistakes - that he now fixed- into ideas that could help the world. He’d scratch words down so fast in 99 cent notebooks he’d gotten at the dollar store. He even showed Karen a few of his ideas and she was astonished by how detailed the work he’d put into them was. He did that for every scientific book he’d ever read. He had to admit, some of the ideas were terrible and he probably wouldn’t get to most of these inventions in his lifetime, but his mind was just working so fast.

 

He was 13 when he took extra classes online so he could go into AP classes when he went into high school. Admittedly they were easy. May and Ben let him stay out super late so he could finish up some courses and he’d gotten through a lot. He was going through advanced courses during the school year too. May and Ben thought the workload would be hard, but it just kept Peter content and occupied. But he was kind of dissatisfied when he barely learned anything cause he already knew it all. Karen had suggested he apply for Midtown Science and Technology, but he had sighed and said that they couldn’t afford it. A week later he’d gotten a letter from Midtown Science and Technology offering a _ full ride _ and he nearly cried. Ben, May and Karen had all went for pizza that night.

 

He was 14 when he got bitten by the spider and his ideals got muddled. May died and he forgot what he wanted to be for a bit in his grief of not being able to save her. At that point he just wanted to make sure nothing like that ever happened again, to him or to anyone else. He used his knowledge of Chemistry and Mechanics and made a suit and web shooters and the web formula and basically anything he needed. He’d also gotten the Oscorp internship and then a few months later he was betrayed but still needed a job, and a few weeks before he was 15 Tony Stark needed his help and gave him a new suit.

 

By then, what he’d learned and when had muddled into a blur for him. It didn’t matter if he was 15 or 21, he was still paying rent and still needed a job. He found one and he had to work. Life had been a bitch to Peter, but Science and reading and books and tech had never gave him an issue more science and reading and books and tech couldn’t solve. It’s where he truly felt in his depth. He felt happy while doing it, and not pressured or anxious. No deadlines or due dates or lives at stake. He could always have a steady hand and mind. He knew what he was doing and it felt awesome. Oscorp blurred his relationship with it for a while and he felt lost for that time- he shivered when he thought about it because he  _ didn’t know what the hell he was doing or who he was and whywasheevenliveing- _ but he got right back to it in the end, but a bit more privately this time. Karen had been worried.

 

The thing with Peter though, he didn’t have much time to do what he enjoyed. What with Spiderman and Ben and the Avengers, the only science he’d really done was for his gear as Spiderman with Ned. Never one of his own personal projects. He rarely came by the library- maybe two to three times a week, four to six if it was a good week.

 

Shuri let’s him come to the lab to work on stuff with her everytime their both in the compound or the tower. She always has him help her with whatever their doing, weather it being a restoring an alien artifact or upgrading the air vents so Clint couldn’t sneak up on him again, Peter is always happy to help. Even if he’s a little reluctant, because last time he had a mentor he went all lizard-bastard-that-took-my-research on him, but Shuri acted more like a lab partner than a mentor. A partner that knew seven million times more than him and guided him, but a  _ partner _ nonetheless- Peter didn’t think he could handle having a mentor now….or ever again really. 

 

Harley calls him her little lab assistant and Peter would be honored if he was, I mean the Princess of Wakanda, head of all Wakandan Tech and Science, and he could be her assistant? YES PLEASE!!!

 

So one day, Shuri is work on ‘something personal’ and sends Peter off to play with the spare parts from Tony’s and Bruce’s and even Shuri’s past inventions. Unwanted or unnecessary parts that had no use. Shuri had giggled then said “Good Luck, Spider boy.” and went to the other end of the lab to work on her ‘secret personal’ project. Peter would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little miffed by her blowing her off. And he certainly was  _ not _ pouting.

 

Peter sighed as he sat at the table with the large bin next to him full of spare parts.  _ What to make, what to make… _ he absently rummaged through the bin and took out a few parts and placed them on the table bordly, pout- that was definitely  _ imaginary _ \- still on his face. Once he was sifting for like 15 minutes he looked at what he had brought out. He really wasn’t paying attention to what he’d brought out due to his-  _ not _ \- sulking, but when he looked at the parts the first thing that popped into his head was  _ Robot Dinosaur _ . 

 

REXY.

 

Like the one he made when he was a kid. Out of a blender and some old TV remotes and a bent up fork - which _no_ _aunt May I found it like this, I swear._ The one he never finished because he was always stuck on what to do. He smiled at the memory. Ben and May had been so proud of it, Peter had too, it was his first robot. Now he was determined to rebuild it. Except this one would be better. More modern. Upgraded. He’d finish it this time. He should add a chocolate chip dispenser? Hell yeah. No weapons though, as cool as fire breathing would be, R3X-1 was supposed to be a friendly robot pet, since Peter couldn’t get one when he was a kid. And he was pretty sure that dogs didn’t breathe fire, although he _knew_ cats had knives for nails. He’d gotten enough of them out of trees to know by now.

 

He had to just program it now and he’d be good. He didn’t even notice that he’d spent 5 hours working straight, or for the past 15 minutes Shuri was looking behind his back and watching him code. The code was tricky though, because these were more advanced parts than a blender, some old TV remotes and a bent up fork -  _ Please May, I swear I didn’t do it on purpose, stop tickling me. _ He was just having a bit of a problem with how to animate the arms. 

 

Peter had grown up since he was 11 and read a lot more about coding. He was smarter. Plus he spent time around Tony Stark and more specifically his AI, FRIDAY, he’d figured out the emotions and learn by itself protocol FRIDAY used. Peter noticed how FRIDAY had access to the internet instead of everything already downloaded into her. She was intuitive and always learning. Just like a kid, except one that actually obeyed you. Peter’s code for R3X-1 was more similar to DUMMY’s programming. More impulsive and more mischievous. Tony always called him glitchy, but never got rid of him. It made Peter smile when DUMMY would be nice to him and it made him laugh every time DUMMY would pull something over Mr.Stark’s head, because no matter how much the man threatened or got mad at the robot, he’d always keep him. It was like DUMMY had a mind of his own, and Mr.Stark seemed to like it that way. Mr.Stark really is a genius to make something as interactive as that.

 

“You have to make a new interface for the mechanical part of him and then link them.” Shuri said with behind him and he was so in the zone that he jumped a little. Shuri laughed.

 

“Stupid Spidey Sense. You’re supposed to tell me when someone is behind me.” He grumbled and Shuri laughed some more.

 

“‘Spidey Sense’? “ she giggled and Peter blushed a bit.

 

“It’s like an alert system.. precognition...Tells me when something bad or dangerous is comin’” he said sheepishly and Shuri’s laughing died off and she looked at Peter for a minute.

 

“Interesting…” she said and Peter hunched in on himself self consciously. Shuri leaned to look at his robot he was programming. “So what’s that? Some kind of weapon?” cause boys always made weapons. Peter shook his head.

 

“It’s nothin…” But he actually really did want to finish R3X-1 this time around. He didn’t know why he was so embarrassed by it. Maybe because he made it up when he was a kid. Well more of a kid. 

 

“It looks like you spent a while working on it. Come on just tell me.” Shuri said pulling up a chair. Peter sighed. She wouldn’t let this go.

 

“R3X-1 or REXY...I made him when I was 11 out of old parts I found around the house, but could never make him emote things. I scrapped the idea cause I got busy.” Peter sighed and then said in a quieter voice almost to himself “Ben and May never had the time or money for another mouth so I just figured I could make one, cause I was...well I didn’t have many friends and I had no siblings… they were out alot...for work and stuff and I- I...well yeah.” he finished lamly and blushed. “Sorry you didn’t ask for all that.” Shuri was looking at him he could feel it, but a second later she was pushing the computer toward Peter.

 

“Well finish him now. I’m actually…  _ slightly _ impressed you made a emoting robot out of that junk, it is quite intuitive ...and resourceful.” Shuri said and Peter looked up at her and gave her a small smile. She smiled back. It wasn’t everyday the Princess of Wakanda, head of all Wakandan Tech and Science, gave you a compliment. It was honoring in a way. “Now as I said before, try making another interface for the mechanical part and then linking it with the interactive part of your code. It’ll make it easier and cleaner and less confusing, but your code you got right.” Peter looked at it and made an ‘ohh’ with his mouth. 

 

“Thanks a ton Shuri.” his smile was so bright Shuri swore she could see herself in the reflection of it.

 

“So you made this for a replacement for a pet?” she asked and Peter nodded absently as he typed.

 

“Yeah...I had other ideas and only got around to building or making some of them. When I was a kid I used to read books and find the errors in them...I’d kinda correct the errors and try to make something useful out of them. Or at least come up with an idea. Most of them are trash and half baked and stuff but you know…” Peter shrugged not even realize he was rambling off.

 

“Did you ever socialize?” Shuri asked sarcastically. Peter shot her a quick glance before going back to his work.

 

“I wasn’t the most popular kid in school…” Peter mumbled “But-But who are you to talk… you- you holed yourself up in your lab most of your life. Do you even a have a friend your age besides me?” Peter asked trying to recover some of his pride, but he realized that wasn’t the most formal way to talk to your friend, much more the Princess of Wakanda, head of all Wakandan Tech and Science. 

 

“Touche” Shuri smirked before he could mumble and apology. He smiled a little more. That’s right, Shuri wasn’t a  _ formal _ Princess. She was chill. “But I would like to see those ideas you came up with.” she said and crossed her arms.

 

“I came up with them when I was like 12.” Peter nearly whined. “Their not good.” he mumbled softer.

 

“I don’t care” Shuri said stubbornly. “If there anything like that exoskeleton you made when you were  _ 11 _ , I’m sure I can find some use for it.”Peter looked at her.

 

“Seriously?” he squeaked. He couldn’t believe the Princess of Wakanda, head of all Wakandan Tech and Science, wanted to see  _ his _ - _ Peter Parker’s _ \- ideas. Wow! Just wow!

 

“Seriously.” Shuri smiled at him and he smiled back before turning to his work. “By the way…” she said and Peter hummed in acknowledgment “Did you find any mistakes in Stark’s books.” Peter scoffed.

 

“I’ll bring those books tomorrow.” Peter said and Shuri’s smile grew. REXY made a tiny roar. They both laughed.

  
“There were  _ multiple _ ?!”


	5. Pranks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is a little odd then what I have done recently, but I hope you guys like it. The beginning is a little weird but I really didn't know how to fix it. So I hope you guys enjoy this one!!

**Pranks**

 

He was the only sane one in the building. Well most sane would be the more accurate term for this. Peter was certainly  _ not _ sane. Not in the least. Because he had voices in his head telling him what to do all the time, and little angels and devils on his shoulder and everything. Hell, he even referred to his Spider Sense more like a human than a precognition. Peter isn’t a phyciatrist but he knows that’s not right.

 

Nonetheless, he’s the only one with any sense in this building right now. 

 

Pepper was out of town and Tony was in his lab - though Tony was probably just as sane as he was. Harley and Shuri were here too- they were most certainly not sane, unless you counted two evil geniuses as sane - and Peter thought he’d swing by the tower to hang out or build something that’d probably give Mr.Stark grey hairs and  _ maybe _ have the potential to cover everything within a ten block radius purple and blue. But that… that would be vandalism and despite the vigilantism, mask, and anything the Bugle has to say about him negatively - so basically  _ everything _ the Bugle has to say about him - Spiderman was a model citizen. Just ignore trespassing and other illegal shit - because was web slinging even legal? - and you were good to go.

 

Clint and Scott had come back for the weekend, just to pick up some papers and check in to make sure they weren’t dead. Thank god Cassie, Lila and/or Cooper tagged along, cause as much as Peter adored them, seeing their dads’ like  _ this _ , didn’t exactly make it easy to call them your dad. More like immature adults that you’d be embarrassed to be related to.

 

Peter ignored the blast of pink powder that flew past him. He just wanted a sandwich, and he got a war. Maybe more terrifying than World War 2. A prank war, between two geniuses and two Avengers.

 

It had all started when Peter walked in one Friday morning at 10am to see Scott and Clint at the table. He simply waved to them as he got an apple to head down to the labs to meet up with Shuri and Harley for a new experiment demo.

 

“Heya Pete, you free today?” Clint asked and Peter looked at him and smiled, he hadn’t expected Clint to be in the building, nor Scott. He hadn’t expected them at all until summer ended.

 

“Mr.Barton, Mr.Lang? I didn’t know you guys were comin’ today.” he asked with confusion, almost like a puppy.

 

“Yeah, Stark wanted us to check in, so we’re here for the weekend.” Scott said with a shrug “Not a big price to pay when you have the whole summer off for your kids.”

 

“Amen to that.” Clint said wisely. Was he even Christian? Hmm, Peter never thought about the cultural background of any of the Avengers before, not that he really cared weather they came from a certain background or not, it wouldn’t change his opinion of them. “So what d’ya say kid? A few rounds?” 

 

“Huh, oh- uhm I have somethings to do down in the lab. With Harley and Shuri.” he noticed the way Clint scrunched his nose a little.

 

“You’d rather be geeking out than working out, Parker?” he asked and Peter shrugged. He was geeky after all. 

 

“I don’t see anything wrong with it. Shuri and Harley are cool.” Peter said and waved Clint off as he hurried down to the lab. Clint scoffed as he left.

 

“Why would he wanna be around those brats instead of us?” Clint mumbled “I mean we’re cool too. We’re  _ Avengers _ .”

 

“And he’s a kid, who needs to be around kids similar to his age.” Scott said placatingly “Let him be a kid. He never gets to do this stuff otherwise.”

 

“Fine.” Clint huffed and let it go.

 

OoOoO

 

Shuri and Harley were in the lab experimenting with some chemicals. Peter loved chemistry, so he didn’t hesitate to join in. What they seemed to be making was a simple chemical compound that dyed things any colour that was put inside it. Paint bombs essentially. 

 

Peter had no idea what use was in store for them, because he couldn’t think of a good answer for it. Why would Harley and Shuri make paint bombs?

 

“Hey why are we making these anyways?” Peter asked as he picked up a blue paint bomb inspecting it.

 

“We’re gonna prank Lang and Barton, duh.” Harley said in a tone that he thought made it obvious. 

 

“Why would we do that?” Peter asked. He liked Scott and Clint, not to mention they were his bosses. If they knew he was in on this he’d be fired in an instant.

 

“Because it’s fun to mess with them. We know they have kids of their own, so doing this would be normal for them. But we’ll just take it a notch higher, you know.” Shuri explained and Peter looked at her unsurly.

 

“Plus they won’t do anything about it.” Cause they were dads and adults and weren’t childish. Why did that make Peter feel more unsettled about the idea now?

 

“Uhm...okay...but their kinda… my bosses so could you guys count me out?” Peter shifted uncomfortably. Shuri and Harley looked at him in confusion for him to explain. “I tutor their kids and babysit them.” Peter mumbled and Shuri and Harley burst out laughing. Peter didn’t have the ego or pride to defend himself right now.

 

“Okay, whatever you say, Spider-sitter.”

 

OoOoO

 

It took all of two hours for Shuri and Harley to set the prank up. It would’ve gone faster if a certain webhead decided to help. But Peter refused to help anymore than he did and just sat on the couch reading a book as the two set up their prank for Clint and Scott’s after training session.

 

He had to admit, seeing them in blue and pink house paint was pretty funny. Harley even put in glitter. He chuckled behind his hand a little and Harley and Shuri bust out laughing.

 

“You little punks!” Clint yelled and the duo quickly made their escape to post the footage they’d gotten on the internet. “Damn brats.” he said and looked at Peter who buried his head in his book trying to keep from laughing.

 

“Did you have anything to do with this Pete?” Scott asked almost betrayal. Peter was quick to shake his head and Clint groaned.

 

“I’m gonna shoot them.” CLint roared, and smelled his cloths “This will take forever to get out.” he groaned.

 

“Actually, it won’t  _ ever  _ come out, it’s weatherproof.” Peter informed and Clint groaned more. 

 

“ Face it, their kids and we’re not. We have to be the mature ones.” there was a pregnant pause and then a devious smile overcame Clint’s face. Scott knew that smile anywhere. “Oh no, Barton you are  _ not _ doing what I think you’re gonna do.”

 

“What? They started it.” Clint said in an innocent way.

 

“No, it hasn’t even begun. Not until we actually do something back.” Scott said in a panicky tone.

 

“Exactly. We just gotta give em a little push.” Clint got up and jumped in the ceiling vent. “Come on Lang. Let’s show these kids how to really do it. Time for some pay back.” Scott sighed, he wasn’t getting out of this one. Peter watched him retreat out of the room.

 

This wasn’t gonna end well.

 

OoOoO

 

Looks like ‘payback’ was sneaking through the air vents and setting loose some non-toxic but horribly smelling bombs in the lab where Shuri and Harley were ‘working’. 

 

Then the genius squad had put fireworks in the training dummies. Which would’ve been dangerous if the tower training room couldn’t withstand Thor or the Hulk sparring it out. 

 

Then the Avenger dads - omg Peter had to come up with better names - had put shaving cream and silly string all over the lab, which must’ve taken forever to clean up. 

 

Back and forth it went, until nearly every room in the tower was messy, dirty, burned, or other. Peter had had enough.He marched out of Shuri and Harley’s scheming two seconds after walking into their lab. Tony had numerous labs and he’d given them their own, but it was mostly Shuri and Peter’s lab since they did the most stuff in there. He went to the only room that was dubbed ‘off limits’ in the prank war, Tony’s lab. Well Tony and Bruce’s lab, and it was off limit for obvious reasons. Because no one knew what the hell went down in there and how many touchy triggering things they were working on. 

 

“How do you even have access to this place?” Tony asked him blandly, he didn’t really seem to care that Peter was here.

 

“I hacked into FRIDAY.” Peter said grabbing a screwdriver from his backpack and started to fix his web shooter. 

 

“Hmm, impressive.” Tony mumbled but he didn’t sound surprised.  He was working on what looked like to be another prototype for nanobots in his Iron Man armor. Come on, Peter was a 15 almost 16 year old kid that could hack into Tony Stark’s files, of  _ course _ he’d want to know what Tony was working on. “So what brings you to my humble lab.” Peter wanted to scoff. This place was anything but humble. Peter almost had a geek induced seizure the first time he came here.

 

“Prank war.” he said simply and Tony almost dropped his tools and he looked white. 

 

“Who?”

 

“Hawk-Eye and Ant-Man vs the Mechanic and Princess of Wakanda.” Tony actually dropped his tools and started to breathe deeply. Peter almost looked at him in concern.

 

“They’re gonna start World War 3 like this.” Tony said exasperatedly. “It’s amazing the tower is even still standing

 

“It’s so annoying. Their trashing the tower.” Peter said in an annoyed voice. Tony looked at him weird for a minute and almost laughed.

 

“Did you- are you  _ annoyed _ ?” Peter ducked in on himself, a light dusting on his cheeks as he screwed in another bolt. “You are! God who would’ve thought? You deal with little kids colouring on your homework and spilling juice on your robotsand are cool with that, but a  _ prank war _ by  _ adults _ \- and almost adults _ \-  _  get you annoyed.” 

 

“It’s just really sticky and messy you know.” Peter tried to defend himself “And I just wanna work on my web shooter.” He gestured a bit to his web shooter.

 

“Hmm I get that.” Tony said and paused a bit before continuing and if Peter didn’t know better, it was almost like he was hesitant. “I don’t like my tower trashed either, so how ‘bout we end it.” Peter looked at him full on.

 

“How do you think we do that?” Peter asked, quirking his eyebrow disbelievingly. Tony gave him a shark smile and Peter couldn’t help but scoff.

 

“Pepper is going to have a heart attack.” Peter mumbled, smile still gracing his features.

 

OoOoO

 

Tony couldn’t believe it. He’d actually gotten the kid to smile. 

 

He never really thought of it before, but when he’d actually did it. Gotten him to genuinely smile, all by himself and without anyone’s help, it felt like the best thing in the world. Sure he’d seen the kid smile, but never like that. Like for once he was really happy and had no worries, like a regular kid should. Tony thought the kid deserved a regular life, but with all the bullshit that’s gone down with him, even without the Spiderman stuff, he could never be a normal kid.

 

Making the prank was fun on it’s own. They had an elaborate one, Peter just had to set it into motion. Which is what he was doing right now. Scott and Clint were just chilling in the common room and Peter had to go and drag Harley and Shuri out of the lab.

 

“Come on guys, I’m starving.” Peter said chiperly. Tony had to scoff from where he was on the the end of the counter looking as if he was scrolling through twitter. He wasn’t. It was a convincing lie. Or maybe it wasn’t a lie so much as an excuse, the kid had only had an apple today. With how little he complained about food, it was hard to remember he had a super human metabolism. Tony mentally scolded himself to not forget next time, the kid must’ve been starving.

 

“Can’t you just bring it down to the lab?” Shuri’s annoyed voice asked and Peter laughed.

 

“Nope, you guys said you’d eat lunch with me and I want Harley’s mashed potatoes.” Peter said as he walked in behind the two older kids. Tony almost laughed at how ironic this was going to be. 

 

When the two kids saw the two Avengers on the couch all parties immediately bristled. Peter and Tony had to keep in their smirks perfect. “Come on can’t you two get along for an hour. Then resume your war?” Peter said and Tony had to commend his acting, he actually sounded mildly irritated and was trying to hide it. The kid would make a kick ass spy.

 

The kid tossed a remote to Clint, the archer had found out that the batteries needed replacing and since Peter was on his way down to lab anyway, why not ask the kid. “Good Spider boy.” he praised and Peter scoffed.

 

The two parties begrudgingly agreed to call a truce and light tension settled in the air. Tony thought that the only fact they were in the same room without sticking out their tongues at each other- well that was at a minimum but still, that was pretty unavoidable-  was only because of Peter. It probably was, that kid seemed to have everyone wrapped around his finger and he knew it. This was probably the only time he was using that little fact to his full advantage. He was such a good kid. 

 

He and Shuri sat down at the counter, Peter next to Tony and Shuri  on his otherside. Harley got out a potato and started to peel it while Shuri took out a pad and started to work.

 

“Clint I spent all that time replacing the batteries in the remote and you’re not even gonna use them?” Peter said after Harley had put the potatoes into the water to boil. Clint didn’t say anything as he wordlessly clicked a button on the remote and webbing shot out into his face. Shuri and Harley turned quick as Scott started to laugh and get up to help Clint but found he couldn’t move, invisible webbing sticking him to where he was.

 

“What the-”

 

“Holy shit!” 

 

Shuri and Harley started to guffaw, but it was short lived as Harley’s potatoes blew up and mashed all over his face and Shuri’s tablet started to play her personal playlist on repeat and she tried turning it off but the more she tried the louder and faster it got. Him and Tony started to laugh.

 

“How the-”

 

“What the hell Parker?!”

 

How indeed.

 

Allow me to break it down for you. 

 

Peter had replaced the remote with one that was similar to his web shooter so when you pressed the on button, webbing shot out from the enter button below it. Peter had replaced it when he said earlier that he was going to replace the batteries that had so conveniently died.

 

Peter had made a new formula for invisible webbing to stick Scott down in the chair he was sitting in, and had put it there before anyone had gotten into the room. It was supposed to be a prototype for stealth webs that he could use on more stealthy operations. Mr.Stark had helped him to perfect them and they even made it stickier.

 

The potato explosion was Tony’s idea and mostly doing. This was his tower and he’d calculated the exact temperature and time it would take for the potato to explode. He controlled it all from his Stark pad and just watched it unfold.

 

Shuri’s playlist was kind of both of their ideas. Shuri hada playlist for the lab and a playlist for herself. For some reason, Peter couldn’t fathom why, she was embarrassed about playing her personal playlist. Maybe because it had Wakandan songs on it, but one time it had accidentally played and she started to freak out. Peter didn’t understand why she was so embarrassed by them, he thought they were cool. But in this scenario, they just wanted to see them freak out, so Peter had told Tony about the time where he had made a bug in the the school computers and it made the computers start to play Star Wars theme on every single one of the laptops at the school, and everytime they tried to close it or restart the computer it would get louder. Tony had looked at him weird for a minute when he said it got him a 2 day suspension, and then he started to crack up. So much for Peter being the perfect child. 

 

Tony would only admit it over his dad body, but he  _ liked _ working with the kid to make these elaborate schemes and just upgrading the tech in general. It was the first time Tony saw first hand how Peter put together his web shooters, and the kid had chatted absently about the materials. It was impressive, I mean he fought with a  _ broken watch _ and  _ film canisters _ and he still beat up villains that had more advanced and dangerous tech than he did. Enhanced abilities be damned, even Captain America would have trouble pulling that off. 

 

It also made Tony worry for the boy a bit. I mean he was battling super villains that had lazer guns and robot-arms and doom bots with a broken watch and film canisters. It didn’t matter that he could pull it off, even just barley. The kid should have more tech and more advanced things then that. He deserved it, and if he declined as Peter Parker, then he’d give it to Spiderman himself. Because if he were to be completely honest they both deserved it. Tony may have given him a more advanced suit, but the web shooters… the drones and extra gear. The suit really seemed insignificant after all that was put into play. Maybe they could work on it together…

 

But that was later, for now…

 

“What the hell Parker?! I thought you were a neutral party!” Harley said huffing and crossing his arms like a child. 

 

“And Stark. When’d you get put into this?” Shuri glared and Tony and Peter shrugged.

 

“Since you were trashing my tower.” Tony said nonchalantly turning back to his tablet to   _ actually _ look at twitter with a slight smirk on his face. 

 

“And you guys were getting annoying.” Peter mumbled that turned into a laugh when he saw Clint and Scott with webbing all over them.

 

“Well I guess that means they win.” Clint said and Shuri and Harley gawked indigently.

 

“No fair. Neutral parties never win wars.” Harley said stubbornly.

“Actually, they do, because they don’t lose economic stability and military budgets, therefore are a successful country.” Peter said  in a matter of fact tone “Which is why Switzerland is so lit.” Tony scoffed amusedly at that. The kid was right.

 

“Have you ever been to Switzerland kid?” Clint asked in an exasperated tone.

 

“Nope.” Peter scrunched up his nose. “Only Germany...that was...interesting.” he ended in a low note and they dropped that subject.  _ Immediately _ .

 

“So when will the webbing dissolve.” 

 

“6-8 hours.”

  
  



	6. Sightseeing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NO DISRESPECT TO QUEENS I'M SURE IT"S A GREAT PLACE!!! But I d put down NewYor, and also sorry for any inaccuracies. I know there are only 5 burrows, and I'm a Suburb girl who doesn't remotely close to a city soooooo  
> Enjoy!

**Sightseeing**

Peter isn’t a normal kid. That was obvious with the Spider powers and the vigilanteing and the hanging out with the Avengers and babysitting their kids. Did he mention he was Spiderman?

 

So yeah, Peter wasn’t normal, and he didn’t have normal hobbies either. The fact of the matter was, that he  _ is _ Spiderman and he does have to do some underground work sometimes. Sometimes that means he has to go completely off the grid and disappear for a few days without telling anyone.

 

Peter does that. The Avengers never questioned him, or tried to look for him because he was  _ Spiderman _ . He could take care of himself, and he had no obligation to check in, because no matter what the others said, Peter wasn’t an Avenger and they were starting to think he’d never accept the position as one. 

 

It made sense if he didn’t, because Spidey was a free lance hero. He took orders from no one, even when someone gave him orders. He just did what he had to do to make things right, he dove head first into danger of every degree, he had a plan to take on said danger. It didn’t matter if he was prepared or not, if he needed something he didn’t have weather it be a piece of tech or a skill in battle, he’d improvise and do the next best thing. Get creative with it.

 

He did answer to anyone, and usually that would be a bad thing - especially for an enhanced teenager - Fury even had a few aneurysms when even the  _ Avengers _ couldn’t find or catch him. They quickly learned if Spiderman didn’t want to be found, he wouldn’t be found. So they just settled for ‘until he does something bad’, which he never seemed to do. It left them a little unsettled until they found out who he was and Peter started to hang around the tower more. 

 

They still couldn’t influence his decisions, but he did listen to them. He did hear what their opinions were on them or any reasoning they had for him  _ not _ to go take down a robo octopus on your own your just a kid. He never actually took any of the advice, and that was good and bad. It meant that Peter was confident in his decisions and his will and morals wouldn’t be deterred. It also meant a 15 year old kid was probably gonna get himself into a near death state and not tell anyone.

 

It pissed people off, how good he was at what he did, sometimes. 

 

Like now for example. Peter had been gone for 4 days. No trace or sign or anything to indicate where he was or had been. 

 

It was the first time he’d dropped off the grid when Shuri and Harley were there. No one bothered to tell them that, yeah Peter kind of disappears from time to time and doesn’t really show up for a few days. They started to freak out by day two of Peter not answering calls or texts - especially the meme ones. 

 

They’d asked Tony but he just sighed and shrugged and said not to worry about it. They still worried anyways. If  _ Tony Stark _ didn’t know where Spiderman was, than who did?

 

After waiting on the fourth day, they decided to just look for Peter the ‘old fashioned way’. Go out into New York and try to find him. Peter couldn’t have left the city, because Spiderman never left the city hanging. PLus Peter didn’t have any means to go to any place other than the city. If they remembered correctly Peter mentioned that he lived in Queens, so that’s where they’d start.

 

One problem. They didn’t know where Queens was. They didn’t know where anything was. Sure they had google maps and GPS and shit, but they never actually lived or went out into the city much. Maybe to a local CVS, but that was it. Shuri lived in the Wakandan city, but that was way different than here. Harley never lived in a city period. Just an old shack in Tennessee with a local town. They couldn’t navigate through New York like they needed to in order to find Peter - who just so happen to know New York like the back of his hand.

 

This was going to be difficult. So they broke it down like scientists would. What are the known facts? 

 

  1. New York was split into 5 burrows - which had their own distinct accent -: Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, Brooklyn, and The Bronx.
  2. Peter lived in Queens...Where in Queens he forgot to disclose and they couldn’t find any information online.
  3. Peter went to school in Midtown. So chances are he was living at the apartments in Queens closest to Midtown.



 

Okay, now they just needed to figure out where everything was. The tower was in Manhattan and, Staten Island was where Coney island was. The Brooklyn bridge probably lead into Brooklyn. They started to figure out where everything was in maps in their head. They weren’t called geniuses for nothing you know.

 

They eventually found where Queens was, and let them just say they were  _ highly  _  unimpressed. Queens was probably the second dingiest, dirtiest or the 6 that they’d researched - Hell’s Kitchen/Harlem being the first. They knew this coming in, and even if they hadn’t researched that, it was noticeable that Peter did come from the most well-mannered place in the world. Sure he was a polite and sweet kid, you’d barley be able to notice that he’d come from a not so nice neighborhood though. His accent that slipped from time to time, and the comments he made. His intolerance to the strong smell of alcohol. His lack of reaction when someone said something vulgar, he even had less of a reaction than Harley. His overall appearance is what gave it away though. Big, raggy shirts and old worn out jeans and shoes that were coming apart at the seams. 

 

They’d know Queens wasn’t a nice neighborhood, but  _ this _ is not what they had prepared themselves for. They had prepared themselves for packed bars, a few homeless people and some street fights. What they found, however, was a bunch of homeless people, multiple bar fights, people drinking and doing and selling drugs openly, drunk guys hitting on girls two times younger than them, people making out and nearing the border of inappropriate in allies. That was just the surface of it, they didn’t dare go into a building or bar and see what was going on. 

 

It was hard for them to believe Peter had come from such a nasty place.  _ ‘It grows on you.’ _ he said once and shrugged. They never understand how anybody could be comfortable with  _ this _ . The dirty, rusty buildings and the boarded up windows. The creaky fire escapes and the plumes of smoke, from both construction and smokers. How could anyone consider  _ this _ home?

 

“So where do you think he’d be?” Harley asked as they stopped outside a bar and at the corner of an entrance to an ally.

 

“I have no idea. I don’t even know what he’d be doing.” Shuri admitted and sighed. This was useless. They had no leads or any clue of where Peter was. It was like he’d just disappeared. 

 

“So what? We wander around until we find something?” Harley asked and Shuri shrugged. They went to start walking down the street again when they bumped into a middle aged man. He was the definition of a beer belly drunk. He was wearing a stained white tank top and grey trousers. He looked, to put it lightly, disgusting.

 

“Watch where ya’re goin, huh?” he slurred and glared at them. Then scoffed “Tourists.” How rude. They were just about to apologize when he started to lumber off.

 

“Yo Ben!” said another guy near the bar entrance. That peaked Harley’s interest a bit. He stopped Shuri from walking to listen, when Shuri was about to ask why he just shushed her.  Logically, Harley knew that there were tons of people with the name Ben out there. It was a common name. But he just wanted to see if this was the same asshole that crushed Peter. Call him over protective, he didn’t care really. “How’s it goin’? That kid of ye’res still given ya da mouth?” the man asked.

 

“Eh. Haven’t seen ‘im in a while. Good thin’ too, he’s gettin’ annoyin’” Ben had replied. “Thinkin’ ‘bout kickin’ ‘im out. But he’s good fer the money.” Ben said and Shuri and Harley balled up their fists so hard they turned white. They knew Peter’s uncle was an asshole, but that was just wrong.

 

“Yea, gott show ‘im who da boss. Nex’ time he git outta line, just snap ‘im.” the other man said and Ben gave an agreeing nod before they entered the bar. 

 

“Maybe I’d do it fer kicks anyways.” They heard Ben laugh and Shuri and Harley felt something drop into their stomachs. Was Peter getting abused at home? The thought made them boil up. They had to find Peter. Even if they knew logically that he wouldn’t go home first, cause despite him trying to hide it, it was obvious Peter didn’t like going home. Now they just knew another reason why.

 

They briskly walked through Queens when Harley remembered. The Library. Of course, that was the first place Peter made him pick him up. The Library in Queens. Peter was such a bookworm and super smart. He’d obviously be at the library, and if he wasn’t he was bound to show up there before anything else. Harley almost smacked himself it was so obvious.

 

“Let’s go to the Library.” he said and Shuri nodded as they made their way to Queen’s Library. 

 

When they got there they went to the librarian, who’s name was Karen, and said their greetings.

 

“Hello, welcome the Queens Library. Is there anything I can assist you with?” she asked kindly. Her voice was soft, she looked around 27. 

 

“Yes, we were wondering if a kid came in here? Like with brown hair and he kind of looks like a puppy. 15 years old.” Harley asked. 

 

“What’s his name sweetie?” she asked.

 

“Peter Parker.” Shuri answered and the woman seemed to freeze for a moment.

 

“Peter...Why are you looking for him?” her voice took on a more dangerous tone now. The shift was so subtle it was shocking. She looked at them expectantly.

 

“Well… he hasn’t been answering our texts. We got worried so we came here to look for him.” Shuri said honestly and she seemed to calm down a bit.

 

“Excuse my demeanor. I’ve taken quite a liking to Peter. I’ve known him since he was 7 he’s a sweet kid.” her smile was tighter, but she smiled nonetheless. “Peter left about 30 minutes ago, unfortunately” she said a bit sadly. Shuri and Harley deflated a bit.

 

“Do you have any idea where he’d be going?” Harley asked hopfully. Karen shook her head.

 

“No, I’m sorry. But if I were to guess, maybe his friend’s house? His name is Ned Leeds. I believe he lives in Midtown.” she suggested and Shuri let out a sigh of relief.

 

“Thank you so much.” Shuri said with a smile. The woman stopped them before they could turn all the way.

 

“He seemed kind of… on edge though. I know he gets that way sometimes, but… just make sure he’s okay. He had a habit of stressing himself out too much.” Karen said with a worried look. Harley and Shuri nodded.

 

“Will do. Thank you ma’am.” they waved one last time and were off.

 

OoOoO

 

Peter had a lot to deal with right now. 

 

Okay, honestly, when did he  _ never _ have a lot to deal with. His life was the definition of chaos. But it’s not like it’s  _ never _ been that way before. He was most certainly used to it by now, it was the people who he dragged into his hellhole of a life that usually weren’t used to his spazmatic and ever changing agendas and schedules. He’d long given up planning and making time for stuff. He’d get to it when he gets to it, plans never go his way  _ ever _ so why bother. 

 

If he planned doing  _ this _ today - or the past four days- he’d probably tell someone he wouldn’t be around before losing cell service in the sewers. His phone was shit anyway, he’s been getting crappy service from even Queens. He always has to go to the library, or if that was closed a twenty four hour cafe with Wifi. Nevermind being in the sewers, trying to find a stupid Rhino, and here he thought that this was going to be easy. Put up fliers maybe? Hey there is a giant Rhino on the loose, if you see him call- God he really had to get these voices out of his head.

 

But not now, he had a Rhino - _ how do you even lose a Rhino, Parker  _ \- to find in the sewers - _ Isn’t this where the Lizard had his layer? _ \- and he’d been trying to find him for four freaking days. He hadn’t stayed in the sewer for four days, he had to find a way to track the damn thing in the sewers for the first 3 days until he found an unnatural amount of radioactivity moving underground. Yes this was his life now. Finding zoo animals on steroids in the New York’s underground shitholes.He’s done it more often than not actually. 

 

It only lead him to a familiar looking lab. Well it looked more like a shredded dumpster now. Last time he was here Lizard and him had destroyed everything. Broken glass and computer monitors everywhere. Shredded cloths and the stench he couldn’t get out of his suit for weeks on end. There was only one working computer lighting up blue that Peter didn’t remember being here last time and  Peter sighed -  _ You’re not sleeping tonight Parker. _

 

He trudged over the the monitor and took out a flash drive to transfer any and all files that were on this computer, have it go through security run downs at the library, decrypt the files and figure out what the hell was going on. Catch a bad guy or rat out a criminal organization. Yeah, he’s done this one too many times. 

 

The flash drive flashed a red signal indicating it was done and before Peter could smash the ever loving hell out of the computer that gave him at least 28 more hours of problem solving to do, he heard a grunting roar from afar and dreaded what was to come next. 

 

A Rhino charged in and it was not unlike the Hulk with its power and speed.  _ Hulk could probably beat it up though _ . It smashed into the monitor just as he jumped out of the way, sending glass shards everywhere. This was going to be a long night.

 

“Hey, I thought Rhino’s lived in the open. Not in some sewer!” he quipped as he webbed the Rhino in the back, successfully pissing it off - _ What can he say? Pissing people off was his specialty- _ “But it does explain your smell. And I thought it was my costume.” If he were honest it probably was. 

 

Peter didn’t want to lead the Rhino up to the surface. He’d rather keep it in a confined space, less room to run, less velocity, less power behind attacks. Yep, the odds of the battlefield were in his favor, which made him wonder why the Rhino would come down here in the first place. Was he just that dumb, or was something else happening. 

 

Either way, he needed to finish this up fast. Knock the Rhino out and get him to the police station which was going to be a  _ blast _ . The Rhino charged at him again and he flipped out of the way. But the Rhino kept charging down the hall into the rest of the sewers. He swung after the big guy but lost him again. How did that keep happening? It was like losing the Hulk! 

 

Peter sighed and looked at the flash drive in his hand, maybe that would get him answers and more information on this Rhino character. 

 

He swung out of the sewers and into his street clothes and made his way to the library to start the security scan. Security scans were tedious and long. Peter could do the, but it takes 2-3 hours on a good day. So Peter made a code to help him with it, still took 1-2 hours, since there were no technical errors and Peter only so often had to do something that the code wasn’t programed for. If it wasn’t, the program would take Peter’s algorithms that he put in and try them next time. The program made his life a whole lot easier. 

 

In the back of his mind, Peter knew he could always ask Mr.Stark to have a security scan and decrypt his files. Stark computers were much more faster and accurate anyway. He also knew that Mr.Stark and the Avengers were nosy when Peter brought anything bad guy related up with him. And they’d even try to sideline him if it got too big. Peter hated to feel useless, so he just did it himself. Just in case. 

 

Not that Peter wouldn’t ask them if it became too serious, but… well Peter actually didn’t know what ‘too serious’ was, so yeah he’d never ask them for help. Ever. It was a Parker thing. 

 

Once the data was all securitized he just ran a decryption program and let it sit. Sipping his hot chocolate as he read a book MJ had recommended to Ned a while back.  _ Tailspin by Sandra Brown _ . Why did MJ always pick the good books? God, he missed her.

 

Okay, the files decrypted lets see what they’ve got. 

 

_ Oscorp Experiment: R23-12- Failed _

 

Oscorp? Again? He thought he took down that corporation over a year ago. He’d taken it down in the Spring of his Freshman year. He looked at the dates. 

 

_ May 17,2018 _

 

That was two months ago. But if Oscorp was taken down when the experiment began then why would it be an Oscorp experiment? Had Norman gotten out of jail. No, he would’ve known. That stuff would be all over the news. Conners was behind bars too.

 

He clicked on the file to see a document and video in it. The document had some stuff on the experiment, saying what failed and what not. There was no introductory file. He clicked on the video. A man had on the screen was in a containment cell and was morphing slowly from a man to grey skin. He started to yell and then a pulse of energy smashed the containment cell. He started to run around and smash things and the video got blurry and was cut off.

 

He scrolled down the other videos.

 

_ Oscorp Experiment: R23-13- Failed _

_ Oscorp Experiment: R23-14- Failed _

_ Oscorp Experiment: R23-15- Failed _

_ Oscorp Experiment: R23-16- Failed _

_ Oscorp Experiment: R23-17- Failed _

_ Oscorp Experiment: R23-18- Failed _

_ Oscorp Experiment: R23-19- Failed _

_ Oscorp Experiment: R23-20- Failed _

_ Oscorp Experiment: R23-21- Failed _

 

He kept scrolling until:

 

_ Oscorp Experiment: R23-54- Success _

 

He clicked on the video and saw the same man from the first video. He was in a new containment cell and his skin started to turn ashy grey. He started to grow horns on his face and then became larger. It soom mutated into the Rhino he was fighting earlier that day. 

 

He rubbed his eyes, tired from days of no sleep, and looked at the date.

 

_ July 17, 2018 _

 

That was last Tuesday. This was successful a week ago. He still had no information on who sanctioned the experiment. He went back the first video to look for any clues. He looked at each and every frame. No glares or any reflection. The experiment was run by unbranded robots. Their creator was smart enough not to be in the vicinity. With experiments like this and an unprepared lab, it was probably suicide to be there. The only clue he really had was his face and Oscorp. 

 

He looked through the missing persons list for the past three months. Came up empty. He looked at the faculty list for Oscorp. Nothing came up on the scientist meter either, but on the staff search he found his guy.

 

 ** _Aleksei Sytsevich-_** _Chemical Transporter_

 

Peter ran a google on Aleksei, and apparently he didn’t have a family to report back to at him. Which explains why no one reported him missing. The last person he was employed to was...under Adrian Toomes. 

 

Peter groaned. Why him? Why was he chosen for this. Ugh, Toomes? He’d already beat the guy, why the hell was he coming back to haunt him now. You know what, no. No he refused to accept Toomes was behind this. You wanna know why?

 

Toomes has been in custody for the entire time the experiment was sanctioned. Another thing, Toomes worked with weapons, not Bio-experimentations. So this Aleksei obviously falls in with a bad crowd. Oscorp, Toomes, and who ever this guy is.

 

Toomes was certainly a lead though, and Peter doubted that Aleksei was smart enough to conduct experiments on himself. 

 

Peter yawned, he was so tired.

 

Maybe Ned could find a better lead he could follow. Chances are there were more than one and he just wasn’t seeing it. Cause he really didn’t wanna talk to Toomes again, or ever for that matter. 

 

He got up and went to his best friends house, saying goodbye to Karen on the way out and ignoring the concerned look she glanced his way.

 

He texted Ned to say he was coming and ignored the other texts he’d gotten underground. He didn’t know if he was in the clear yet, and when he was on these types of missions, he liked to keep his contact with people at an all time minimum. 

 

Ned convinced him to be the only exception because  _  Peter I’m your guy in the chair and your best friend just let me help _ . God, that kind of thing was going to get them both killed one day. 

 

He climbed through his friend’s window, that Ned now kept open most of the time.

 

“You know you can use the door? Right?” Ned asked from his bed and Peter shrugged in response bringing up his computer files after taking his laptop out of his bag. Ned frowned at him. “Dude, you look like shit. Go to sleep.”Peter would’ve smiled if he had the will power to.

 

“Your mom here?” Peter asked and Ned shook his head in the negative. “Good. Okay, so I’m tired.” Ned scoffed as if saying  _ no shit _ “So you try and find something on this guy while I lay down cause there is no way I’m catching any z’s until this guy is caught and you tell me if you find anything.” Ned sighed, but moved wordlessly over to the computer anyway to comply. Peter laid down on the bed.

 

“Sometimes I wish you could just forget about this stuff.” Ned said “You know, take a break.” 

 

“Me too man.” Peter mumbled “God, I  _ need _ one.” Ned scoffed again.

 

“At least you’re aware of it.” Ned was probably right. That was as good as it was gonna get for him.

 

“Just this guy.” Peter said sleepily.

 

“Heard that one before.” Ned grumbled back. A moment later he asked “Toomes?” 

 

“Yeah already figured that out, can you find anything else?” Peter asked as he stared up at the ceiling.

 

“Well, the experiment numbers.” Ned stated and Peter blinked.

 

“What?” he asked and got up,  _ woah major head rush _ , and looked down at the computer. 

 

“It starts at R23-12, and the second number goes up by one with each trial. That means there were 11 more experiments before this one.” Ned said and Peter rubbed his eyes. How did he miss that?

 

“Okay, well since the trial started in Oscorp, maybe I can go and find something. Thanks a ton, Ned.” He said and flipped out the window. 

 

“Be careful.” but it was caught on deaf ears.

 

OoOoO

 

30 minutes after Peter left, Ned heard a knock on his door. 

 

He wanted to say he was surprised that the Mechanic and the Princess of Wakanda were at his door, but he really wasn’t. It was only a matter of time before the Avengers got tired of Peter’s underground disappearances and whatnot before they sent over someone to ask his ‘guy in the chair’ for his location. Ned still wasn’t sure if he’d give them an answer or not.

 

He was honestly expecting Black Widow or Hawkeye to show up, but he wasn’t being picky.

 

“You wanna know where Peter is?”the two looked mildly surprised, but nodding their heads anyways.

 

“Has he disappeared like this before?” the Mechanic asked and Ned was vaguely intrigued now. Did they not know Peter did this like  _ all the time _ .

 

“Yeah, like a million times before. He’ll come back.” Ned sighed and the Princess gave him a scowl.

 

“Are you not his friend? Are you not worried about him?” she asked a bit menacingly. He lifted placating hands in the air.

 

“Woah, woah. Yeah I’m his  _ best _ friend. And I’m worried to you don’t even wanna know what levels. He just showed up here looking like he’d been in a freight car accident, and considering what he’s trying to find, I think he’s been in a pretty damn close scenario.” Ned said frantically.

 

“So you know where he is?” the Mechanic perked up a bit and Ned nodded.

 

“He’s goin to the old Oscorp building. He found a lead there, and I don’t think he’s gonna stop until he found what he’s looking for.” Ned said.

 

“Thank you.” Shuri said curtly but before they could leave, Ned called out to them.

 

“Hey, Peter does this all the time by the way. I think I’ve mentioned that. But like… he’s an idiot who can’t ask for help like  _ ever _ . So… like just he wants your help or he doesn’t. If he  _ really _ needs help, he’ll know who to ask.” Ned said “I’m not gonna say he’s fine, because he’s all types of messed up. But the good kind of messed up… you know.” Harley and Shuri smiled.

 

“That doesn’t make him any less of an idiot.” Ned smiled a bit.

 

“Damn straight.”

 

OoOoO

 

So the Rhino dude was at Oscorp.  _ Of course, he was at Oscorp. What? You actually thought this would be easy? _

 

Now he had 300 tons of raging battering ram to take care of. God he was so tired, he couldn’t take this anymore. 

 

The thing flew at him again and again. It was too big to stop with his webs on one blow, so the most he could do was play rodeo and tired the damn thing out enough to web him up.

 

“OLAY!!” he cheered as he flipped, gotta keep up that Spidey Snark, no matter how tired he was. He quipped under pressure. He was starting to think the Rhino was tiring  _ him _ out instead.

 

The Rhino smashed through the windowless building and onto the street. He flipped around it and webbed it up a bit. The Rhino thing let out a roar.

 

“Dude, you’re gonna cause so many noise complaints.” Peter said and the Rhino charged, not at him, but a building and the water tower from above shook from the vibrations. He had a bad feeling of what was gonna happen. His Spidey Sense went off just as the Rhino smashed again and the water tower came crashing down on top of ...Harley and Shuri??? What in the actual?? What were they doing in downtown Midtown? Away from the tower, it seemed like a far away place to stray.  _ That doesn’t matter right now Peter theyaregoingtoDIE!!! _ Huh, so even his inner voices care about the same people he did.  _ Shut-up and focus you dumbass! _

 

He webbed around and caught the water tower just as it was about to land on them and turned around and webbed up the Rhino’s hands.

 

“Rodeo is over! Come on big guy, let’s get you back in your pen.” He used his Spidey strength and swung the, surprised Rhino -  _ wow am I actually this strong???- _ around and through him in the air and shot webs that inclosed the thing so tightly that it could move a centimeter and caught him just before it was about to make a big crater in the middle of the street. Webbing him to a traffic light, and standing in front of him. 

 

“Well hate to  _ crash _ the party, but that was getting too rough for my liking.” he laughed and Harley and Shuri made his way over to him, unimpressed looks on their faces. “Get cause, a group of Rhinos is alled a crash and they have rough ski-”

 

“You make terrible jokes when you’re sleep deprived.” Shuri pointed out and Spiderman puffed out his chest.

 

“I make terrible jokes when I’m not sleep deprived too. It’s kinda my thing.” he said proudly and Harley and Shuri gave him a deadpanned look.

 

“Getting arrested should also be your ‘thing’.” An officer from five feet away said to him pointing a gun. “You’re under arrest for property damage.” 

 

“That’s my que, bye.” he said and jumped away as the officer fired three bullets at him.

 

“What the hell are you doing?!” Harley nearly screamed. He almost forgot, the police didn’t know they were shooting at a 15 year old kid. 

 

“Wasting ammo.” The police officer sighed. “And my job. Spidey is an unsanctioned criminal and mutant as far as we know.”

 

“Criminal?! He just saved our lives!” Shuri said angrily.

 

“He’s a vigilante. Those are illegal. He knows this even before signing on.” the officer said unimpressively and Harley and Shuri were shocked speechless.

 

Did Peter know that before becoming Spiderman?

 

OoOoO

 

Peter came in two hours after Shuri and Harley had gotten back. 

 

They had gotten back to a bunch of worried faces saying  _ ‘where were you’  _ s and  _ ‘don’t tell us where you’re going again and I’ll kill you’ _ s. When Peter hopped through the window looking like complete and utter shit, no one mentioned it. He just right on to steal an apple and crash on the couch. 

 

He was in a large grey hoodie that went above his hands all the way and down to his mid thigh and some sweatpants. His hair was still damp, from what must’ve been a shower. No one mentioned the fading bruises trailing along his neck and disappearing behind the fabric, or the limp in his walk. His muscles were sore, especially around his arms. But he had thrown a  _ Rhino  _ 200 feet in the air.

 

“So this happens often?” Shuri asked sitting next to Peter, Peter dispondantly shrugged and kept staring at the football game Sam and Steve were watching. He never really got sports, he was never really into it that much. He was more of a nerd.  “We were looking all over for you today.” Peter sighed. Someone should have told them that this was normal. It wasn’t his fault. “And we talked to Karen and Ned, they seem worried for you.” Shuri told him in a hushed tone.

 

“That sounds about right.” he said blandly. He was worried about him too. 

 

“How can you blow this off? Did you even know what you do is illegal?” Shuri asked in a harsher tone and Peter sighed again. He sighs a lot when he’s tired.

 

“Yet, the  _ Avengers _ let me do it. I’m fine, I can take care of myself.” Peter said. He wouldn’t be so snappy if he wasn’t this tired. Harley studied him for a moment.

 

“We went to Queens and saw your uncle.” Harley whispered and that got him to sit bolt straight. Tiredness be damned. 

 

“What?!” he whisper shouted. Was his breathing off? He couldn’t get air into his lungs. Yep, his breathing was totally off.

 

“Why didn’t you tell us you were getting  _ physically abused _ ?” Harley whispered harshly into his ear. “I think that counts as  _ worse _ Peter.” Peter brought his knees to his chest from his criss cross position.

 

“He- it’s not- it’s not that..bad?” was it? He’d been avoiding Ben for what 3 months now? He’d been home approximately 45 minutes the whole summer so far. 

 

“Not that bad… you little shit. We care about you too.” Harley said in a harsh, but not as harsh tone as before.

 

“Yeah? And what can you do?” Peter asked, tears pricking his eyes. It’s been a  _ long _ day. 

 

“Get you outta there.” Harley whispered and Peter shook his head. 

 

“Mr.Stark said the same thing. I said no. I’ll come when it gets unbearable.” Peter said in absolute denial. He just didn’t know why he was denying it.

 

“No you won’t” Harley stated blandly. And Peter  looked at him in the eye. “You suck  _ shit _ at asking for help.” Peter glared at him, but didn’t respond, just hugged his knees closer.

 

“Why are you pushing this off?” Shuri asked in a much nicer tone than Harley. Peter sighed.

 

“I don’t know.” Peter said and he felt the tears welling up more. His heart felt too tight and he could feel Harley and Shuri looking at him. Waiting.

 

“Peter?”

 

“I’m jus’ really tired…” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, now that this is done, I can finally get back the Everything Keeps us Apart. Man, I'm so excited to write MJ again. I don't care what anyone says I LOVE her.  
> Any ways, see you soon!!


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